That's a great question! To quote the Book of the Year website, "The winners will be determined by a panel of librarians and booksellers selected from our readership." There are 60 categories for the subjects of the books. They say the judging criteria is based on "Editorial excellence, intent of book met by author, originality of subject matter, accuracy, author credentials, and professional packaging". The finalists were chosen from a jury of editors, reviewes, booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals. To learn more, go to http://bookoftheyearawards.com/about